Ep3 A Step Backward
by SilverFire-Kyuubi
Summary: Episode 3 in the series. If you did not read Ep.1 Internal Strife and Ep.2 A New Leaf, please do so or you may be left very confused. Incomplete so far but I intend to update on it regularly.


"Hey, let me see what classes you have." Odd said, snatching the piece of paper Syrus was holding with her schedule printed on it. 

"Heeey I was looking at that." Syrus whined giving him a sad look. Ignoring her, Odd looked over her schedule.

"Man, this is totally lame!" Odd exclaimed, displeased.

"What's wrong, Odd?" Aelita asked coming up from behind them.

"Syrus only has one class with any of us." Odd complained limply handing the piece of paper back to Syrus.

"Really?" Syrus asked looking at the paper cheerlessly.

"Hm, we are definitely going to have to do something about that. Syrus doesn't know enough about our world yet so she needs at least one of us with her most of the time." Aelita replied.

Syrus shot Aelita a hurt glance but chose to just ignore her comment since what she had said was true, as much as she hated the idea of being thought of as helpless.

"Which one is it?" Syrus asked showing the paper to Odd.

"It's Science class." Odd replied pointing to it on the paper.

"Oh... What is Science?" Syrus asked inquisitively.

"Well, Syrus, science is the study of natural phenomena such as biological life like the behavior of humans and animals, and stuff like that." Aelita replied.

"Aww come on, are you serious? I don't know anything about living beings." Syrus replied unhappily.

"Yeah and it's got a lot of math in it too. And man do I hate numbers." Odd grumbled. "I can do math." Syrus replied her face lighting up.

"What do you know? I guess there is one thing she knows about our world." Odd teased.

"So, what are we going to do about her schedule?" Aelita asked.

"Don't you worry about a thing, I have great charisma and not to mention I'm very charming. All I have to do is talk to Mr. Delmas and explain to him why she should have her schedule changed. It'll be a piece of cake." Odd replied.

"That's great, Odd, but charisma and charm are the same thing." Aelita replied with a laugh.

"Yeah? So what's your point?" Odd asked combatively.

"Nevermind, Odd." Aelita said sighing.

"Come on Syrus; let's go get this taken care of." Odd said grabbing her by the sleeve and towing her off.

The two arrived at the secretary's office and still dragging Syrus along, Odd walked in unannounced.

"Ms. Weber, I need to speak with Principal Delmas right away, it's an urgent emergency!" Odd exclaimed quickly.

"I'm sorry Della Robbia, but you're going to have to take your "emergency" elsewhere, Mr. Delmas isn't in his office right now." Ms. Weber replied without looking up from her desk which she was organizing papers on.

"What a lame-o. Go figure, right when I need to speak with him the most, he's not here." Odd muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something Mr. Della Robbia?" Ms. Weber asked lifting her head up and looking over the tops of her glasses.

"No, no, it's nothing. Just my life is in peril, but as usual, nobody cares." Odd said, continuing his theatrics.

"Della Robbia, get a move on." Ms. Weber said aggravated.

"Fine, fine, I'm going; don't have to tell me twice." Odd grumbled as he and Syrus left the office.

"Odd.." Syrus said.

"Huh, yeah what is it?" Odd asked looking in her direct.

"You are very over dramatic." Syrus finished in an automated tone.

"Hey, I'm trying to do you a favor here; would it hurt to lend me a hand?" Odd replied, slightly irritated.

"Actually it might. My hands are not detachable. Therefore lending you a hand would cause me harm." Syrus replied tilting her head to one side.

"Uh… It's just a figure of speech, Syrus. What I meant by that is you could have helped me out back there." Odd replied giving her a disheartened glare.

"Oh.. I see.. You humans are very strange." Syrus replied readopting her normal tone.

"Why do you say that?" Odd asked perplexed.

"Because; you say things like "lend a hand" which doesn't actually mean to lend a physical hand but is actually a request for help. Why can't you humans just say "help" instead? I would think that would be easier." Syrus said with a serious look.

"Ok, now you're starting to scare me. You're sounding way too much like Jeremie, and that's not a good thing." Odd replied.

"I do not understand. Does my voice really sound like Jeremie's?" Syrus asked, looking very confused.

"No, it's another figure of speech." Odd replied frustrated.

"I'm confused." Syrus said scrunching her eyebrows together in a sad look.

"Yeah, it seems that's really easy to do. Just forget it. Ok, Syrus?" Odd replied, sighing.

The end door of the hall swung open and a man with gray hair wearing a brown jacket walked through it.

"Mr. Delmas! Just the man I wanted to see!" Odd exclaimed trying to sound mature.

"Della Robbia, there's always something with you, but I haven't the time right now." Mr. Delmas replied continuing down the hall.

"W-wait! I know your time is very valuable and all, but it will only take a second!" Odd continued desperately.

"Fine.. What is it then?" Mr. Delmas inquired frustrated.

"Well you see. My friend here got her schedule and she only has one class with me or my other frie.."

"Della Robbia, if this is just another one of your schemes to get all your friends in the same classes as you, then we have nothing further to discuss." Mr. Delmas replied, frustrated.

"No! I-its just. You see, my friend, being from Scotland and all, doesn't know much about our customs and all that.

I just think it's in her best interest that if she was in a class with me or one of my buddies then she would start to feel more at home here.

You wouldn't want her feeling edgy or uncomfortable at your school.. Would you, Mr. Delmas?" Odd said trying to convince him.

"Well.. No... Oh alright... If that is what she wants, and if it will get you to leave me alone, then I will consider doing something about it." Mr. Delmas said, sighing.

"It will! You want to be in the same classes as us, right Syrus?" Odd asked. "

Uh, wha? Oh, uh, I mean, yes, yes of course! I would greatly appreciate that uh, sir." Syrus replied nervously looking up at Mr. Delmas.

"I see. Alright then I really must be going, I will see about your schedule Ms. Allen." Mr. Delmas said and he exited the hall.

Syrus blinked.

"Why did he call me Allen? I thought my name was Syrus." Syrus asked looking at Odd confused.

"That's your last name. Yumi made it up for you so that you could be registered." Odd explained.

"Why do I need two names?" Syrus asked puzzled.

"To be honest with you, I'm not really sure, but your last name is that of your family." Odd replied.

"I see. So, since I do not have a family, we had to make up one." Syrus replied.

"Yeah, that's right. But we're kinda like your family now. We're you're friends. We'll always be there for you." Odd said trying to comfort her.

Syrus turned to leave the hall but stopped a few feet from the door.

"We should locate Aelita." Syrus said quietly then left through the door.

"Hey wait up!" Odd replied rushing out the door after her, only to find Syrus standing on the other side waiting for him.

"Well, I thought we were going to find Aelita." Odd said.

"You asked me to wait." Syrus replied simply. "Oh right…" Odd replied.

Odd and Syrus got back to the arches where they had been not too long ago with Aelita but she was nowhere in sight.

"Hm, I guess she already went to class. Come on lets go." Odd said, gesturing for Syrus to follow.

The tardy bell rang as they came to the science building making Odd groan.

"Why does that high pitched alarm keep going off?" Syrus asked trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

"It tells you when class is over or when you're late to your class. In this case, it means we're late." Odd replied.

"How can you tell?" Syrus asked, bewildered.

"You don't see anyone leaving the class do you? If no ones rushing out of the classrooms, then class isn't over. Simple as that. Come on, maybe we can sneak in without Ms. Hertz noticing us." Odd replied tugging Syrus along by her sleeve again.

Odd carefully turned the handle of the door and slowly slipped inside followed shortly by Syrus.

Ms. Hertz was lecturing the class about chemical compositions when she noticed Odd sneaking along the side wall trying to avoid her detection.

"Della Robbia. Is there a reason that you and you're friend are tardy to my class?" Ms. Hertz queried, pausing right in the middle of her previous sentence.

"Oh, don't mind me Mrs. Hertz I'm just going to sit down at my desk now." Odd replied evasively.

"Not so fast Della Robbia, and Ms. Allen, I would have thought better of you than to be tardy on your first day of class." Ms. Hertz said shaking her head slightly.

"Now, both of you, I expect an explanation from you and I don't want any funny business, Mr. Della Robbia." Ms. Hertz continued looking at him with a cold look.

"W-we were speaking with the Principal." Syrus replied.

"And what about, may I ask?" Ms. Hertz asked skeptically.

"I needed my schedule changed so he took me to see him." Syrus replied, twitching just a little.

"Hey she's not looking so good." Ulrich whispered to Odd as Odd sat down next to him.

"I know. I'm kinda worried." Odd whispered back.

"Take your seat Ms. Allen. I will speak with Mr. Delmas later, and if I find out that you were not in conference with him then it will be detention for the both of you."

Ms. Hertz replied resuming her lecture but Syrus was so petrified that she didn't hear any of it as she took a seat in a nearby empty desk positioned near the middle of the room.

"Now. Can anyone please tell me what the chemical formula of water is?" Ms. Hertz asked.

Odd quickly raised his hand.

"Della Robbia. Do you even know the answer?" Ms. Hertz said.

"Yes ma'am." Odd replied simply.

"Alright then, go ahead." Ms. Hertz said expectantly.

Odd cleared his throat.

"Simple. It's HIJKLMNO." Odd replied, grinning.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Ms. Hertz asked, puzzled.

"Well you said it was H to O!" Odd replied bursting into laughter.

"Odd that was probably the lamest joke you have ever made." Ulrich whispered.

"What else is new? You think all my jokes are lame." Odd replied stopping abruptly.

"Yes, very funny Mr. Della Robbia." Ms. Hertz said sarcastically.

Syrus stared distractedly at the blackboard completely unaware of what was going on around her.

"Ms. Allen, are you feeling alright?" Ms. Hertz asked.

"Uh y-yes?" Syrus replied realizing that Ms. Hertz had been calling to her repeatedly.

"Are you sure? Do you need to go to the Infirmary?" Ms. Hertz asked worriedly.

"Uh, yes?" Syrus replied, unsure what she had been asked.

"Very well. Will someone please accompany Ms. Allen to the Infirmary?" Ms. Hertz asked, announcing the question to the class.

"I will." Odd said, quickly raising his hand. Ms. Hertz nodded and Odd walked up to Syrus's desk.

"Come on let's go." Odd grabbed her by the hand and helped her up.

Ulrich turned around in his chair to face Jeremie.

"Hey, what do you think is wrong with her?" Ulrich asked. "

I'm sure it's just the shock of everything she's going through. I bet its overwhelming her. She ought to be fine once she gets a little fresh air." Jeremie replied.

"Yeah you're probably right. You know? It still creeps me out just thinking about what she really is." Ulrich said looking back to the front of the room so Ms. Hertz wouldn't catch them talking.

"Yeah I know what you mean. Everything that has happened with her seems so weird, almost too coincidental." Jeremie replied in a hushed voice.

"What are you saying, Jeremie? You think she might still be evil?" Ulrich asked

"Not necessarily. All I'm saying is I'm hoping you guys aren't right about X.A.N.A. setting this whole thing up." Jeremie replied.

"To tell you the truth, I don't really trust her. I mean, she seems harmless enough, but you never know with X.A.N.A.. And her being a Krabe means we should probably keep a close eye on her, at least for awhile." Ulrich said with a serious look.

"Not a bad idea. And it definitely couldn't hurt anything. And if she is harmless as you say, then there won't be anything to worry about." Jeremie said.

"And if she's not. All I can say is I feel sorry for Odd." Ulrich said almost laughing.

"What do you mean, Ulrich?" Jeremie asked.

"What I mean is, I think Odd is already crazy for her." Ulrich said with a quiet chuckle.

"You can't be serious. I know Odd practically falls for every new girl that comes along, but I don't think he's desperate enough to go for a Krabe." Jeremie replied.

"I don't know. He seems to really like her." Ulrich said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Aelita whispered leaning to the side of her desk nearest the two boys.

"Ah uh, nothing, just that we think we should keep an eye on Syrus." Ulrich replied.

"What? But why?" Aelita asked.

"Because, being a Krabe, we can't be sure of her true intentions as of yet. Yeah, she may seem perfectly nice right now, but it can all easily be a ruse to lower our guard. And then she may very well be Ok, but I think we need to keep our guard up for now. If she is still on X.A.N.A.'s side, we need to be ready for anything." Jeremie replied.

"You have a point. I guess there's no harm in being careful." Aelita said. 

"Hey, I wonder what's taking Odd so long. He should have been back from taking Syrus to the Infirmary by now." Ulrich said looking at the clock on the wall.

"You're right; he has been gone awhile now. Do you think someone should go check up on them?" Aelita replied.

"I think someone should, something could be wrong." Jeremie said.

"I'll go then." Aelita replied.

"Are you sure Aelita? What if it's a trap?" Jeremie asked.

"Then I will call you. Hopefully it's nothing." Aelita replied, raising a hand into the air.

"Ms. Stones, do you have a question?" Ms. Hertz asked looking in her direction.

"Actually ma'am I'm not feeling well. Can I please go to the Infirmary?" Aelita asked.

"That's two kids in one class period. Alright, Ms. Stones you are dismissed." Ms. Hertz replied.

Aelita stood up and quietly left the room.

She walked out of the Science building and quickly removed her mobile from her pocket.

"Hello?" Odd's voice was heard from the phone.

"Odd, you two have been gone quite some time now, is everything alright?" Aelita asked heading for the Infirmary.

"Yeah. Well I think so. Syrus has been in the girl's room awhile now. Come to think of it she hasn't said anything for awhile." Odd replied leaning against the wall.

"What? You didn't take her to the Infirmary?" Aelita asked.

"Well I figured all she needed was a little fresh air and to go wash her face or something. So I took her over here and I'm waiting for her right outside." Odd replied looking over at the door.

"Well why don't you check on her, I will be there in a minute." Aelita said changing the direction she was going.

"What? I'm not going into the girl's bathroom!" Odd exclaimed.

"I'm not asking you to go in, just knock on the door or something." Aelita replied, frustrated.

"Oh.. Right. I knew that." Odd replied and hung up.

"Odd? Hello?" Aelita repeated into her phone. Her mobile beeped and she looked at it; the lighted screen was now displaying the call duration time and a "call ended" message.

"Well that was rude, he hung up on me." Aelita mumbled.

Syrus stood in front of the mirror staring at it with her right hand placed on it.

Before now, she had not seen her own face and seeing her reflection now puzzled her.

Her fingers slipped over the smooth surface and finally rested on the glossy knob of the sink in front of her.

She disdainfully turned it allowing water to flow out of the faucet; the sound alone was enough to make her cringe.

She removed her gloves and slowly reached out to touch the rushing water but it suddenly stopped coming out.

Confused, Syrus began twisting the knob with frustration and a black smoke-like figure soon poured out of the spout.

Syrus fell backwards as she scrambled to get away from the ghostly mass coming after her.

The specter engulfed her body and she soon found herself unable to scream for help.

Syrus gasped for breath as it began to take over her and a familiar presence crept into her mind.

"_You have betrayed me AO 15-3._" The message was implanted into her own thoughts as a distorted electronic voice.

"Syrus? Hey are you ok in there?" Odd asked worriedly, knocking on the door.

No response.

Struggling to fight the control Syrus stood up but wound up being forced up against a wall.

"_It is useless to fight. You belong to me._" The same warped voice rang out in her mind.

"Leave me alone!" Syrus hissed.

"_I should have destroyed you long ago when I still had the chance… You will not escape me again._" The voice reverberated and Syrus's body grew limp.

"_Pathetic…Human…_" The voice mocked.

"Syrus! Come on! I really don't want to have to come in there!" Odd called from the other side of the door.

Still, no response came.

Odd hesitated for a minute then turned the knob and flung the door open to find Syrus lying on the floor.

"Syrus!" Odd shouted and ran to her side.

Odd knelt to help her up but backed up in surprise when her body slowly moved one hand underneath it for support and raised its right hand to Odd's face to shoot a medium sized ball of electricity at him sending him sprawling towards the wall behind him.

Odd collided into the wall hitting his head on it full force.

Syrus's eyes opened to reveal black eye-like symbols as she stood up slowly.

She strode over to where Odd was lying unconscious and watched him for a moment to make sure he wasn't going to get back up to oppose her.

When Odd didn't move, Syrus grinned malevolently and phased through the bathroom door. Syrus looked around and spotted Aelita coming down the hall.

"Syrus, there you are. Are you feeling better now?" Aelita asked.

Syrus grinned and replied in a garbled variation of her own voice. "Just fine.. Aelita.."

Syrus closed her eyes for a moment then reopened them and the symbols disappeared.

"Syrus? Are you sure you're ok? You don't… Sound so good." Aelita said warily.

"Never better." Syrus replied.

Aelita looked around the hall.

"Where's Odd?" She asked, noticing he was nowhere in sight.

"Sleeping." Syrus replied her voice sounding as though two people were speaking the same thing both at the same time and she took a step closer to Aelita.

Aelita started to back up slowly.

"Syrus… This isn't like you at all… What's wrong with you?" She asked, fearing that what Jeremie had said might actually be true.

Syrus only continued to walk toward her.

Aelita fumbled for her mobile in her left pocket.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Syrus said, closing her eyes and lifting her right hand up.

She opened them again and the symbols reappeared.

Sparks shot around her fingers and she sent a small bolt at the hand Aelita was holding her phone in.

Aelita screamed as Syrus approached her and pried the phone out of her electrically bound hand.

Syrus took the phone and flung it against a wall smashing it into pieces.

"No! Jeremie, help! You were right, it was a trap." Aelita pleaded in vain.

In class Ms. Hertz was handing out worksheets and Jeremie was drumming nervously on his desk.

"Ulrich. Something's wrong, Aelita has been gone a really long time now and Odd and Syrus still haven't returned either." Jeremie whispered.

"Don't worry so much will ya? She said she would call if something goes wrong, didn't she?" Ulrich replied taking the worksheet Ms. Hertz handed him.

"I know, but I have a bad feeling that I was right, Aelita may be in danger." Jeremie said beginning to sound panicked as he took his worksheet as well.

"I haven't heard your laptop sound the alarm for an activated tower yet so I'm sure everything's fine." Ulrich said trying to ease him.

"That's because it's still in my room." Jeremie replied.

"What? You forgot it? That's unusual; you're usually conjoined at the hip with that thing." Ulrich replied, surprised.

"Very funny, Ulrich, but there's no time for that now. If X.A.N.A. _is_ up to something we don't have any time to lose." Jeremie said.

"Gotcha, I will make a distraction so you can sneak out." Ulrich replied. Jeremie nodded his response.

Ulrich sat quietly at his desk while he thought of a plan.

Ms. Hertz wrote an equation on the blackboard then turned to face the class.

"Can anyone please give me the answer to this equation?" She asked pointing to the blackboard. There were some murmurs in the class but no one volunteered.

Thinking fast Ulrich raised his hand.

"Stern, do you have the answer?" Ms. Hertz asked.

"Uh yeah, sure." Ulrich said shrugging.

"Alright. Why don't you come up to the board and write it down for us." Ms. Hertz replied gesturing to the chalkboard.

Ulrich stood up and made his way to the front of the room.

He picked up a piece of chalk and held it up to the chalkboard before looking back at Jeremie from the corner of his eye.

Jeremie nodded to him and Ulrich looked back at the board.


End file.
